I recently made the mistake of sniffing around on an online wine auction just before closing, meaning I had just enough time to bid on a few 1988 Spanish wines without the luxury of time to look into whether or not that vintage or these wines were woth the risk. They probably weren't, but they were cheap enough that I bought them anyway. One is a Montecillo Gran Reserva and the other a Julian Chivite Coleccion 125 Gran Reserva from Navarra.

I've never had wine from either producer let alone that vintage. Can anyone shed any light on my probable folly?

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Jenise wrote:I recently made the mistake of sniffing around on an online wine auction just before closing, meaning I had just enough time to bid on a few 1988 Spanish wines without the luxury of time to look into whether or not that vintage or these wines were woth the risk. They probably weren't, but they were cheap enough that I bought them anyway. One is a Montecillo Gran Reserva and the other a Julian Chivite Coleccion 125 Gran Reserva from Navarra.

I've never had wine from either producer let alone that vintage. Can anyone shed any light on my probable folly?

I like 88 Rioja just fine. Not a stellar vintage, but a solid vintage. I can't remember having any Navarra wines from 88, but that was supposedly an excellent vintage for them.

Montecillo is a big Bodega, along with M d Caceres and Faustino they are the most common Rioja I see. Currently, their wines are fair, but their older Gran Reserva (esp. Vina Monty) are very good.

Julian Chivite has modernized drastically in recent years. Many of the wines are blended with Cab and are not to my liking at all. I bet that 1988 came before the shift, so you may have an interesting wine on your hands. Certainly, the quality is there with this producer even now, but the wines I have tasted haven't merited my wallet opening. Let me know how it is!

Taken, of course with a ton, not a grain, of salt, but still for the vintages I am familiar with, it isn't too badly off!

Gott im himmel! Anyone who lists 1992 as being "good" deserves a smack upside the head.

Not a vintage I'm familiar with. But if we start criticising the list, I would like to point out the 96. Why not excellent? The only reason I can think of is that the compiler didn't want 3 in a row...

I don't drink wine because of religious reasons ... only for other reasons.

JoePerry wrote:Julian Chivite has modernized drastically in recent years. Many of the wines are blended with Cab and are not to my liking at all. I bet that 1988 came before the shift, so you may have an interesting wine on your hands. Certainly, the quality is there with this producer even now, but the wines I have tasted haven't merited my wallet opening. Let me know how it is!

I know the Coleccion 125 is intended as a Bordeaux blend, right? 2001 reminded me of a modern-styled Bdx, but not over the top. I've enjoyed the Gran Fuedo wines, wasn't aware they had CS.

Of course, my favorite Chivite has always been the Rosado- killer qpr.

JoePerry wrote:Julian Chivite has modernized drastically in recent years. Many of the wines are blended with Cab and are not to my liking at all. I bet that 1988 came before the shift, so you may have an interesting wine on your hands. Certainly, the quality is there with this producer even now, but the wines I have tasted haven't merited my wallet opening. Let me know how it is!

I know the Coleccion 125 is intended as a Bordeaux blend, right? 2001 reminded me of a modern-styled Bdx, but not over the top. I've enjoyed the Gran Fuedo wines, wasn't aware they had CS.

Of course, my favorite Chivite has always been the Rosado- killer qpr.

I've never had the Rosado, I'll have to give it a look. The Coleccion 125 is (I think) Cab and Tempranillo... or Cab, Tempranillo and Merlot.

In any event, the only time I like Cab with Tempranillo is old Riscal or Unico (when it is under 20%).

Re the Chivite, I think the label implied that the 125 is all tempranillo. Let me go get the bottle...yeah. "In order to celebrate the 125th anniversary of our export business we decided to bottle the best of our production from the finest vintages under this name. To make this wine, we selected the best tempranillo grapes from the 88 vintge, then aged the wine for two years...."

Joe,

Thanks for the scoop--those are better prospects than I deserve (especially for only $20/bottle), but certainly what I'd hoped to hear. I'll look forward to opening them after they settle a bit.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

I've never had wine from either producer let alone that vintage. Can anyone shed any light on my probable folly?

Hi Jenise,

I have had three bottles of Montecillo Gran Reserva from 1995, I think. I found them to be very good wines, full bodied, and nicely balanced. Perhaps a bit more fruity and new worldish than some riojas I have had, but excellent with food especially grilled steak. I think you will probably be pleased with your purchase.